Does the U.S. Face a Shortfall of Timber?

Recent studies show that the demands for timber from domestic forests are likely to grow rapidly in the decades ahead. Supplies, on the other hand, will increase rather slowly if forests continue to be managed much as they have been. These projections and the widening gap between them have been viewed by some in terms of a physical shortfall. In a free market economy, however, there will not be a shortfall. Prices will rise until there is an equilibrium between demands and supplies. Rising relative prices will limit the expansion potential of the timber industries. They will also mean higher costs to consumers, increased dependence on imports, greater environmental costs associated with expanding use of substitutes, and acceleration in the rate of use of nonrenewable resource.